The present invention relates generally to the use of calcium L-pidolate for obtaining an agent improving the quality of egg shells, in particular mechanical resistance and appearance, and, in particular a composition administrable to laying poultry so as to improve the quality of the shell of the eggs produced by said poultry.
Poultry raising has for several years been transformed into intensive industrial activity to the detriment of the conditions of raising (reduction of space, absence of natural light, etc.). This development translates for adult laying poultry into a decrease of the quality of the shells of the laid eggs. This drop in quality of the egg shells, and, in particular, of the mechanical resistance of said shells, has given rise to a substantial increase in the percentage of broken, cracked or microcracked eggs, giving rise to a substantial loss in the product in the course of transportation. Moreover, this reduction of the quality of the egg shells requires the breeder to reduce the productive life of the laying poultry because this decrease of the quality shows up most particularly after the 60th week of the life of the laying poultry.
Although the process for the development of the egg shell is not perfectly well known, it has nevertheless been shown that a supplemental content of nutritive elements, in particular calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3 in the laying poultry feed could have beneficial effects on the functional properties of the shell. This is why different food supplements have been produced. Such compositions are particularly described in the patents FR-A-2.354.056, EP 0 383 116, EP 0 402 878, EP 0 594 862, WO 96/35339, FR-A-2.633.158.
As shown by the above list of documents, the solutions are diverse and varied. However, all these solutions have until now shown their limits because, beyond the doses prescribed in the above documents, there is generally obtained no supplemental effect on the mechanical resistance of the shell. Moreover, each of these above-proposed compositions has drawbacks connected either with the dosage of the active elements to be used, or to the difficulty of using the active element because of the intrinsic characteristics of said active element, or to the administration of this active element because of the cost of this active element which is not returned by the laying poultry. Such drawbacks give rise either to economic restraints connected to the doses and accordingly to the costs arising from such supplements, or to technical problems connected for example with the machines necessary for the production of the compositions, or to problems of the laying poultry refusing to eat it.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide as an agent improving the quality, in particular the mechanical resistance and the appearance of egg shells, a calcium organo salt, never used until now in animal feed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a composition administrable to laying poultry so as to improve the quality, in particular the mechanical resistance, the resistance to bacterial contamination and the appearance of the egg shells, this composition, simple to prepare, containing the tasteless active element in a very low quantity.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a composition administrable to laying poultry so as to improve the quality, in particular the mechanical resistance and appearance of the egg shells whose active element acts immediately, from the first day of its administration to the laying poultry.
To this end, the invention also has for its object the use of calcium L-pidolate for obtaining an agent improving the quality of egg shells, in particular the mechanical resistance and the appearance.
The invention also has for its object a composition administrable to laying poultry, characterized in that it contains, as active element improving the quality of the egg shells, in particular the mechanical resistance and the appearance, at least calcium L-pidolate.
The choice of calcium L-pidolate permits obtaining, at a very low dosage, an immediate effect on the functional properties of the shell. As a result, it is possible to provide a procedure perfectly adapted to mass poultry raising.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition is constituted by a mixture of calcium L-pidolate and at least one generally hydrophobic support to form a feed pre-mixture to be directly incorporated with the rest of the laying poultry feed.
The feed composition is, because of the intrinsic characteristics of calcium L-pidolate, easy to prepare. The support is a component which avoids the risks connected with hygroscopy of the calcium L-pidolate and permits obtaining a homogeneous mixture.